


Coffee, Just Black

by thatcuriouslibra



Category: Newsies (1992)
Genre: Bryan is just hanging out tbh, David is a mess, I wrote this so fast I got whiplash, M/M, modern au but really could be either
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 08:51:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15336258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatcuriouslibra/pseuds/thatcuriouslibra
Summary: David Jacobs grows quite fond of Bryan while working with him during the strike. He can say the same. They’re both pining and their caffeine habits are alligned.





	Coffee, Just Black

There was something about Davey not even his closest friends knew about. His crush. Damn that word sounded so stupid. So juvenile. So grade school. But there wasn’t a word he knew to replace it.

He’d just started selling newspapers to help out his family when he was thrown into a whirlwind of a year. This ended with a strike for fair wages. It doesn’t sound like the ideal situation for a seventeen year old, but it changed his life. He learned a helluva lot. 

Wages just weren’t fair and college tuition was at an all time high. David and his initial peers, who grew to be family knew they had to do something about it. Change was needed. But they couldn’t do it alone.

Davey’s best friend Jack Kelly was the face of the strike, behind the scenes was more Davey’s style. But little did he know he’d meet some amazing people behind the curtain. 

Bryan Denton was a working reporter, fake new’s biggest enemy. He agreed to help the boys out, no one else wanted to even try to cover a story that didn’t have guaranteed money on it. As he grew more invested in the story, he grew invested in Davey as well. He pushed it back at first, but is that ever really affective?

While Jack chased down other under paid workers and convinced them to join the strike with a winning smile and persuasive words, Davey helped Bryan get it all down. He soon discovered he was as gifted with writing as Jack was with art. Or maybe he just wanted to impress someone he was infatuated with. The world may never know. 

Fast forward to after the strike, it went well to say the least. The group decided to treat themselves to coffee and scones and you’ll bet your minimum wage David Jacobs used his writing skills to craft a half assed excuse to swindle his way into sitting at a table meant for two with Bryan. 

“You’re literally the only other person I know who drinks coffee black like that..” Bryan scoffed not even looking up from his notepad. 

“You’d think a reporter wouldn’t use literally out of context like that so often.” 

“Not out of context - just inaccurately. Good observation though. You going to school?” 

David thought about that. His family couldn’t afford to put him through school... but if he didn’t go to school he wouldn’t be able to get a good job. That’s a trap if he’d even seen one. He had, in fact. Manhattan had quite a rat problem.

“Maybe if the strike is affective... I’ll have enough money to take a couple courses community.” He decided on. That was some wishful fucking thinking. He bit his tongue. Cursing shrunk his vocabulary. But there was a lot of cursing with this whole riot thing going on. Even the well mannered kids like Crutchie and Romeo let ‘dammit’ and ‘to hell with it’ slip a few times.

“What major?” A miracle must’ve blessed their table. Bryan pushed his glasses up and looked away from his notes, he had something more important to study. 

“Business I suppose. Whatever’s most likely to pay the bills..” Bryan looked conflicted.

“Ever thought about getting into this?” He tested. Yes more than you’d think.

“Umm.. coffee?” 

“Writing. You’re not talentless. The work you’ve done for this strike alone is staggering David. You should major in english.” Davey felt his face flush. No one ever called him that. He didn’t have a nickname or anything, but all his friends called him Davey.

“I don’t think so.” Davey shook his head. “That doesn’t seem like a smart plan.” 

“Neither did the strike... but that went fairly well.” Bryan’s “joke” of you can call it that made Davey smile. Because when someone you like says something even close to funny you smile. It’s just whatcha do. “So what’s the dream school David?” 

“I don’t have a dream school.” Davey lied breaking eye contact. That was a stupid move considering reporters can often tell if you’re lying. This was the case. 

“Come on, every nerd has a dream school.” Bryan brought his coffee to his lips. Davey noticed that too. He really did have a writer’s eye. Or was he just hopelessly in love. Say it with me: the world will never know

“So first you roast my major, now you’re calling me a nerd. Pick a lane Denton.” All it took was a stare down and Bryan had him confessing. Bryan took a mental note of that. That could be useful in the future.

“Columbia. But no WAY I’d ever get in and even if I did I couldn’t get a scholarship and no WAY I could pay so it’s a waste of an admission fee to even apply I’m honestly not sure why I ever even wanted to go there I-“

“You’re ranting on about nothing. Get some admission forms. Major english, minor politics. I’ll cover the fee and help you with your essay.” Davey was beyond words. That escalated quicker that Spot and Racetrack’s relationship. 

“If this is a joke...”

“It’s not a joke. I’ll do all that, in exchange for...” Bryan searched for something to say. “Ah. Coffee. Good thing we like the cheap shit eh?” Davey smiled again, this time genuinely. 

“You’ve got a deal.” He shook Denton’s calloused hands and and he didn’t even have to spit. What a day.


End file.
